RD&S Layout Room

Below was the layout of the basement when we bought the house. Small but still workable for O Scale. The lowest duct work is just over 6 feet, so headroom with lighting attached to the beams was not going to be a problem. A drop ceiling however was out of the question, both because of headroom and cost.

The items in blue were going to have to be removed or replaced. The furnace was big and old, the electrical box still used fuses, one marked stoker, which gives you an idea of the age of the home. The basement was poured concrete, which for 1913 was not often used. The main support wall really broke up the basement and would have to be removed along with the old workbench and cabinet.

basement-before (34K)

Three years, and many dollars later, we have a new furnace with a much smaller footprint. My friend Jack Pettee, from the P&SW Railroad, and I moved the electrical out of the basement and replaced with a new service entrance and breaker box allowing for more circuits into the basement.

The poured wall was removed and replaced with a steel beam which still allows about 6'4" from the floor. This really opened the room for planning of the layout.

The last bit was to move the water softener and hot water heater out of the laundry area (Was the old cistern) and place them behind the stairs. This freed up the laundry room to accommodate a new paint booth, sinks and shelving for equipment waiting for paint. layout_11-07 (43K)